Patient medical parameter data is acquired, collated, stored and displayed for use in providing patient clinical care in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare delivery settings. Patient medical parameter data may include vital signs ventilator information, infusion pump data associated with fluid delivery and other data. Such patient medical parameter data is typically displayed on a patient monitoring device screen in a trend indicative chart with a time axis. This type of chart is commonly termed a Flowsheet. A patient monitoring device is usually located at a patient bedside or nursing station in a hospital ward or in an intensive care, surgical or other location and may be connected to a network such as the Internet, a LAN, a WAN or an intra-net for acquiring patient parameter data from local sources (e.g., patient attached sensors) or remote sources (e.g., a remotely stored electronic patient record). The Flowsheet is an electronic chronological chart of patient parameter information that substitutes for a paper vital sign Flowsheet.
It is desirable that an electronic Flowsheet offer similar or better features and flexibility than a paper Flowsheet chart that it replaces. Such paper Flowsheet charts are used by healthcare personnel to record patient Fluid Intake and Output information and other parameters in many different ways. Known electronic Flowsheet systems are limited in the features they offer. Such feature limitations include limited user capability to specify default or exemplary values for patient parameters and the manner of exemplary value presentation. Such exemplary parameter values may identify medication amount, medication units of measure, fluid type, fluid volume, dose units of measure, and drip rate for each medication of a medication drip parameter, for example. Known systems typically constrain a user to configure a Flowsheet to include exemplary parameter values for a limited, fixed set of parameters, and a limited, fixed set of data items (data fields) associated with the parameters components or fields within those parameters. Such limitations on the use of exemplary values compromise Flowsheet usability since the presentation of exemplary values in a Flowsheet reduces Flowsheet configuration time and reduces error by providing guidance for data entry.
Known systems are further limited in Flowsheet data format preview capability. The complexity of Flowsheet configuration means that it is difficult for a user to envision the look of a Flowsheet resulting from selected configuration options. Known systems typically require a user to exit a configuration popup menu (saving the configuration setting upon exit) and enter data for a test patient, for example, in order to view a resultant Flowsheet presentation and verify that the configuration conformed to requirements. This is a clumsy and burdensome procedure involving saving a configuration setting in a configuration menu, navigating to a test Flowsheet and entering test data for display and review in this test Flowsheet. Further, if amendment is necessary, a user needs to navigate back to an appropriate configuration popup menu and make alterations and repeat the review procedure. These restrictions mean that known systems provide electronic Fluids Flowsheet that fail to replicate the look, features and flexibility of Flowsheet paper charts. A system according to invention principles addresses these limitations and derivative problems.